I can’t remember why I didn’t offer the same speculative list of upcoming summer bangers I did last year. I guess I just didn’t have a solid enough overview of what’s trending. In an era where multiple realms of dance music feel disconnected from one another, you can easily get a false impression that everything is trending at once.
Even the most seasoned writers, promoters, label owners and DJs with decades of experience can now only keep pace with a tiny fraction of the now-vast electronic music landscape. I’m starting to believe that more and more electronic music lovers are really only appearing to be in the know by liking the right reels on Instagram. I find that idea comforting and humanising – one can only listen to a limited amount of releases.
With autumn around the corner, however, I decided to have another attempt. In doing so I realised that the biggest tunes generally drop in mid to late summer, so hopefully that makes this a bit more up to date. That said, usually such overviews are done by entire editorial teams with multiple knowledgeable writers, so please don’t take this as anything more than a subjective collection of tunes that I feel had some impact on European festival dancefloors. Some I heard IRL at this year’s Butik Festival (where, disclaimer, I have worked and performed on various occasions), while some I discovered foraging on Bandcamp, and others caught my attention via reels.
I love hearing songs about fucking on the dancefloor – it makes me feel naughty in the same way as when I first heard ‘The Bad Touch’ on MTV as a kid. Back in May, the anonymous London duo Tracey dropped one of the most feral dance tracks this year, an amalgam of dubstep pressure, electroclash cheekiness and ghettotech sexiness. Thanks in no small part to Riko Dan’s commanding verses, ‘Sex Life’ is an instant anthem, short and functional, hitting a sweet spot between loopy vocal chops, rowdy bassliness, crispy percussion and ethereal synths that will make your serotonin go brrr.
Yo Speed‘Muita’
The Brighton-based artist has produced one of the most intense, high-energy tunes of the year with ‘Muita’. Taking elements from contemporary drum & bass and enhancing them with Baile funk vocal chops, he created an anthemic breakbeat banger that has been regularly played by multiple established DJs on various occasions. Its digital metallic patina somewhat reminds me of peak Noisia from about 15 years ago, or even some other neurofunk-era productions. It’s one of those rare tunes with an overwhelmingly high success rate when it comes to getting a reaction from your average crowd. It guarantees that even the most avid chin-strokers in the corner of the dancefloor will have to let down their guard.
Maoupa Mazzocchetti Feat. Clara!‘Mantequilla’ (Pariah Remix)TraTraTrax
According to the label, ‘Mantequilla’’s easily been one of their most awaited track IDs ever. I myself have been hyping about it in my column since hearing it in Verraco’s Boiler Room a year ago. It has that singular quality of being propulsive and intense, but simultaneously a bit mysterious, not exactly your average fist-bumping banger. Pariah really worked magic on production as per usual, elevating Clara’s vocals to the centre of the sound image. It also emanates that crossover pop quality akin to Pangaea’s summer anthems. No wonder it’s been moving masses at festivals for the past three months.
Fonzo, Roaming Data‘CTX’Method 808
The former Slovenian motorcycle company Tomos had an 80ccm enduro model called CTX. I’m sure the above high-tech speed garage bomb by two of UK’s most promising bass producers has nothing to do with bikes, but when it drops, the gargantuan bassline reminds me of how my friend’s CTX sounded when I rode it as a teenager. It makes you feel fast and furious, overconfident and cocky. A proper bassface trigger, if there ever was one.
Unknown Artist‘I Like Big Pawww’Caterinca
This one belongs to the category of frivolous bangers. If I wore a baseball cap on the floor when this dropped, I’d definitely put it backward to increase my swagger. A breakbeat edit of sorts, the track only relies on amen breaks, familiar samples from Sir Mix-A-Lot’s ‘Baby Got Back’, some goofy scratching and a menacing bassline. It has a retro aura and that cartoonish, overblown swag in the ‘Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air’ tradition. It’s fascinating how simple a dance track can be while still wreaking havoc.
Jorg Kuning‘Mercedes’Wisdom Teeth
Is this the first country tech house tune in the history of humankind? The whole EP from the Welshpool resident is a gem, no doubt, but ‘Mercedes’ stands out with its captivating and singular violin motif. It evokes the image of a barn party somewhere in Kansas with lads and lasses in boots playing their fiddles. I really rate how Kunning has carved his own lane in the wider electronic music scene with his modular explorations that simultaneously feel odd and eccentric while largely accessible. There’s simply no other dance music producer at the moment that sounds like him.
Jump Source‘Get It Done’ (ft. Frankie TeardropJump Source
Even though the true festival anthem from this EP is the emo garage tune ‘On’ featuring Martyn Bootyspoon on vocals, its diptych counterpart ‘Get It Done’ makes me feel stranger than any other dance track in 2025 – is in the best possible sense! A minimal tech house track with an introspective quality, it has the power to bring you to the brink of tears while dancing at full intensity. Frankie Teardrop’s vocal delivery, disarmingly sensual, gives you goosebumps throughout. It’s all about the vibe: subdued, low in energy, almost lethargic, and yet full of tentative hope.
Badsista‘Psycodelia’Self-Released
As I wrote in my previous column, ‘Psycodelia’, a mind-blowing reimagining of psytrance tropes and textures for the trendy bass crowd, boasts the largest, most overblown drop I’ve heard all year. It’s pure peaktime artillery, so ecstatic and energising, and also it’s meant to be played in its entirety for full effect. My nervous system is quite pleased with how it builds gradually, further evolving during the break and building tension before the final release of epic proportions.
Prozak‘Losing You’Bluepress
I can’t believe it’s been 13 years since Solange dropped the True EP. Its lead single has always had a deeply emotive charge for me personally, and I’m sure that is true of many who relate to her music. Dublin UKG boss Prozak has provided a reliable nostalgia trigger for millennials with this uplifting and soothing edit of Solange’s breakthrough hit. It almost sounds like a companion to PinkPantheress’s sophomore mixtape, but catered for old folks like myself.
S.A.M.‘Mastermind’Kalahari Oyster Cult
The Kalahari Oyster Cult crew has had another great year, and it’s honestly hard to pick a favorite as their catalogue has been informing so many selections across different scenes. ‘Mastermind’ is the type of tune that builds and builds up ad infinitum. It has a timeless character, and it could arguably pass for an obscure 90s gem were it not for its contemporary sound image that shines through on a large stack. S.A.M. has always had a knack for dancefloor melancholy mixed with desire, and ‘Mastermind’ encapsulates this quality in a most gorgeous way.
Alarico‘Iruka’Primal Instinct
Primal Instinct, the Berlin label run by the Italian-Swiss techno duo Funk Assault has also had a successful year with many high quality releases, but co-founder Alarico has arguably provided one of this year’s future techno classics. It’s a completely straightforward driving tune, tense, dark and foreboding. The hypnotically manipulated vocals and melancholy melodic elements nod to noughties “tribal” aesthetics à la Umek & co. In a way, I feel that it also captures the zeitgeist, marking a return to tradition if you wish, with the techno scene reinventing itself once again after the post-pandemic industrial boom.
Call Super‘Mothertime’Dekmantel
I feel Call Super has put all their being into this tune. It beautifully showcases their evolving vision as a producer, DJ and artist. His auteurial intricate electronica style meets future garage syncopations for a tune that functions both as a festival anthem as well as a standout song for headphone consumption. The sound design and attention to detail is impressive, and while I sense it’s been engineered for emotional release, the forceful kicks and high-definition synthlines provide that rush of rave energy.
Roza Terenzi‘La Música’MARICAS
Since I started covering electronic music about a decade ago, there hasn’t been a single year that’s passed without Roza Terenzi delivering a hit. While ‘La Música’ doesn’t really stand out in terms of stylistic novelty or mind-bending production, typical of some of her earlier output, it’s a catchy and pop-indebted progressive house tune that could even find an audience on commercial radio. Music about music!
Pangaea‘Manía’Hessle Audio
It’s easier to imagine the end of the world than it is to imagine a summer without a hit Pangea track. The Latin-flavoured UK tech house gem ‘Manía’ with Jazz Alonso on vocals will definitely go down in the dance music annals as a standout single of 2025. While it might not have reached the same amount of success as ‘Installation’ did back in 2023, you could still hear it played regularly across the board. To be honest, I’m surprised it hasn’t become even bigger on UK radio.
Braga Circuit‘DOML’Self-Released
While this tune is actually from last December, Braga Circuit has really grown his profile in the past half year with his signature affective UK-flavoured house tracks. The way he employs vocals almost in a pop-producer manner reminds me of the early post-dubstep evergreens by Joy Orbison & co. No surprise the latter’s been playing this exact song during summer, along with names like Batu and others. His productions and sensibility remind a lot of Otik’s output. I wouldn’t be surprised if the two join forces in the future and deliver a superhit for 2026.
